Cigars 183 



ture. The instinct of the veguero when to nip off the 

 leaves to obtain tobacco of a certain uniform strength 

 is nothing less than wonderful. It is said, and not 

 without reason, that the Cuban planter can produce 

 tobacco of whatever quality and strength he desires ; 

 it is this constant care and amazing skill combined 

 with soil and climate that sustain the world-acknow- 

 ledged excellence of Havanas. 



When the leaf turns from bright green to yellow 

 and spotty it is ready for picking. The stalk is 

 snipped off in sections with two leaves on each bit of 

 stem. They are dried, being strung on thin poles for 

 the purpose. They are then tied in bundles, or gavillas, 

 of about a hundred leaves. Four gavillas secured 

 together become one inanoja, and from fifty to eighty 

 manojas, according to the quality of the leaves, are 

 made into a tercio or bale of lOO or 120 pounds. 

 Thus packed they are conveyed by mules to Havana. 



There are four classes, with subdivisions, of the 

 leaves. Desechro, or the finest quality, comprises the 

 top leaves of the plant, the best because they have 

 received the most sunshine and dew. Scarcely in- 

 ferior to these are the desechito, growing below them. 

 The small leaves growing about the top are placed 

 in the third class, libra, or ' inferior,' while injuriado 

 are the leaves about the root, which are soil-stained 

 and injured by insects or manure. 



These classes are subdivided. The imperfect leaves 

 of the desechito and libra are classed as injuriado bueno. 

 Mixed leaves of varied quality are termed injuri- 

 ado malo. The injuriado, or root leaves, are divided 

 into reposo, primeros, and segundos. A vega of 33 



